Belmont Elementary's recorder honours ensembles and Taiko drum group, together with the Brookswood Secondary percussion ensemble will get audiences pulse racing with a unique concert Saturday, May 31.
The musical groups present Pulse 鈥� An Evening of Japanese Drumming and Anime Music.
"A Grade 5/6 class from Belmont will present a theatrical drumming story with student-made masks," explained Belmont music teacher Kanata Soranaka. "The Belmont Recorder Honour Ensemble and Brookswood Secondary School Percussion Ensemble will also be performing some anime music. The second half of the show will feature Sansho Daiko, a Vancouver-based taiko group that I am part of."
Taiko refers to drums but the shows typically feature large barrel-type drums (wadaiko) played by a group of choreographed drummers.
Anime is not one genre of music but many, all connected by their use in popular animation.
"Animated television series and movies in Japan are enjoyed by all ages," she said." Anime songs feature a wide genre of music including rock, J-pop and electronic pieces that reflect the emotions and themes of the stories. The Belmont Recorder Honour Ensemble and the Brookswood Secondary School Percussion Ensemble, led by Derrick Turi, will be playing some anime music at this concert."
The concert takes over the theatre at Brookswood Secondary, 20902 37A Ave., with the show starting at 7 p.m. Soronaka noted that because the show is based on percussion, the volume is elevated, and that the masks used in the show may be frightening for young children.
Students Ellie Boulter and Izzy Hughes admit to being a bit nervous about the upcoming show but are looking forward to showing what they've learned.
""This play has helped me learn more about Japanese culture and every student in my class has added some of their unique ideas to the play," said Izzy.
Ellie added that "I wanted to do some acting and drumming, so this experience has been both things combined. My dream come true!"
Tickets are $10 per person and available through CUR8 website https://cur8.com/40527/project/132033.
91原创 schools have a history of taiko drumming thanks to Soranaka.
"I taught at Topham Elementary School for over 10 years where there was a Japanese as a Second Language Program. It was there that I built up the Topham Tora Taiko Club with the help of the first principal I worked with, Barbara Gibbons," she explained. "The last taiko concert that I organized in 91原创 was at Topham in 2011 when we raised money for the survivors of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan."
